


all that you are (is all i'll ever need)

by sunnylittleyang



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Mutual Pining, Requited Love, blake's love language is touches involving her head, clingy bees, inspired by one of my tumblr posts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:14:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29848971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnylittleyang/pseuds/sunnylittleyang
Summary: Blake’s shown affection through headbuts, nuzzles, and forehead touches her entire life, it was part of her love language. But nobody had ever made those touches seem quite as intimate and loving as Yang did.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 9
Kudos: 181





	all that you are (is all i'll ever need)

Since she was little, before she found herself thrown into the world of the White Fang and Adam enthralled her completely, Blake always had a special way of showing love and affection.

It started with her parents. From as far back and early as her memories went, she vividly remembered her father and her mother having their own form of communication that consisted solely of touches involving the head. Before he left the house for work, her father would press a kiss to her mother’s head right in between her ears, and her mother would respond by nuzzling her face in the crook of his neck and pressing a kiss there.

Eventually, Blake herself picked up on this love language. 

Before bed each night, Kali would hug Blake and press a kiss to her temple, just as Ghira did to her every morning before work, and Blake made a habit of gently headbutting her mother and tucking herself under her mother’s chin.

Whenever her father would give her a hug, she would nudge his arm with her head and nose at him until he opened his arm and pulled her tiny frame into his side in a loving hug. She would do the same to her mother, just as Kali did to Ghira on occasion.

It became their own way of communicating. Whenever Blake was hurt or upset, she would seek comfort from her parents by headbutting and nuzzling them softly. Her mother and father would respond by pressing their foreheads to hers, cooing reassurances. 

This form of sentiment was the norm in the Belladonna house, and it was second nature to Blake. In time, it became Blake’s way of showing attentiveness to anyone who was close to her.

═

A few times, after she joined the White Fang, this love language manifested in small moments with Ilia. There were some nights spent up late at camps on missions, sitting out and staring at the stars in the quiet moments amidst the chaos. They’d stay up all night talking, sharing stories from their childhood and opening up with some of their more vulnerable confessions that were frowned on by the White Fang.

As sleep started to catch up to Blake, she would sink into her best friend’s side and rest her head on her shoulder. Her physically affectionate tendencies from her childhood would come to the surface and she would gently nudge the crook of Ilia’s neck with her nose and press a little closer to her. 

At first, when Ilia initially recoiled away from the contact, Blake was afraid that she had messed up. But moments later, Ilia relaxed and settled her head on top of Blake’s, and they sat like that until the sun rose and they got up to start the day.

For a while, that physical intimacy became relatively normal between them. But once Blake became more wrapped up and infatuated with Adam and they drifted further apart, that ended.

Blake remembered the first and only time she had ever attempted this expression of sentimentality. It had been early on into their relationship, when Blake was still young and impressionable and had an unrealistic fantasy of what she and Adam could be.

It was the dawn after a successful mission, and Adam had been praising her for her performance that day. Looking back at it, Blake realized that it was during the period of time where Adam was buttering Blake up so it would be easier to manipulate her later on down the line. But at the time, she had mistaken the moment for genuine sincerity.

Adam had pulled Blake to his side as he rambled on about the mission and their achievements. Upon feeling the physical contact, Blake did what she had done so many times before with both her parents and Ilia. She idled up to his side and repeated the familiar process of settling her head on his shoulder before prodding at his neck.

But instead of the warm welcome the movement usually received, Adam stilled and aggressively pulled away from her, turning to glare down at her. His cold, blue gaze would become a familiar and scary sight, but at the time it was first given, it was new and unexpected.

“What was that?” The taller man demanded, scowling down at her. Later on, it was a look that Blake would flinch at and cower away from. But she merely looked at him, confused, and responded, “I thought we were having a moment…” Adam’s brows furrowed, and he practically spat out the next words. “Don’t do that again.”

And so she didn’t. 

═

She never initiated physical contact with him unless he initiated it first. Even then, she held back and never went further than Adam did out of fear of angering him. Blake’s years with him suppressed her need for physical affection, shoving down her needs and the love language she had used since she was a child to communicate and show fondness and love. Even once she left Adam and the White Fang, ignoring her own needs and impulses for her special kind of adoration had become second nature, one that she followed after years of learning to manage it.

It wasn’t until Blake met Yang that she slowly began to crawl out of the mental cave she had buried herself in for years to keep herself from giving into her instincts to initiate physical contact through headbutting and nuzzling. She had spent so long subduing her physically affectionate nature out of fear of Adam’s temper that she almost didn’t notice when those instincts slowly began floating to the surface.

Yang herself was also physically affectionate, but in a much more open and broad way than Blake ever was. It was only natural that Yang’s touchy-feely personality would begin to rub off on her partner and bring her back to her roots.

Even from the start, Yang’s touches always seemed to be more frequent with Blake than they were with any of their other teammates. At first, she thought it was just the fact that she had been deprived of physical contact for so long that casual and fleeting grazes seemed like such a huge thing to her. But after spending time comparing it to how Yang was with her sister and Weiss, Blake realized that Yang  _ was _ more physical with her.

With Ruby, Yang would pull her little sister into her arms and twirl her around, holding her close whenever Ruby accomplished something and Yang wanted to express how proud she was of her. Before bed each night, Yang would ruffle her sister’s red and black locks and shove her toward her bed playfully. It was clear that they were close, so their closeness was to be expected.

Yang’s physical contact with Weiss was much more one-sided and usually in a playful manner similar to how she was with Ruby. In Weiss’s softer moments, Yang would yank Weiss to her side and press her chin to her head as she tucked the smaller girl against her chest, dramatically exclaiming about how Weiss did have a heart and loved her teammates. And despite Weiss’s mock hatred of it, Blake didn’t miss the way Weiss ever so slightly softened during these instances.

But Yang always seemed so much more tender and soft with Blake. While she was more frisky with Ruby and Weiss, Yang always seemed more intimate and warm with her partner.

A palm on her shoulder blade as they walked to and from classes, a hand grazing Blake’s as they sat side by side in the Beacon Academy gardens during their lunch breaks, a shoulder bumping into hers whenever Yang told a joke or made a pun and made Blake laugh, fingers tentatively tucking stray strands of black hair behind her human ears followed by a smile.

At first, Blake tried to ignore the way these touches made her stomach flutter. She never recoiled away from them, but old habits die hard, so it took her some time to feel comfortable enough with accepting the touches and reciprocating the affection. But with time, she did.

She wasn’t sure when she started letting her old instincts rise to the surface, but the first time she remembered fully giving into them was during one of the times that she and Yang had decided to skip class.

If anyone else had ever asked, Blake was a punctual student who always did her work and turned it in on time. But Ruby, Weiss, and their teachers knew better. Blake wasn’t usually one to ditch class, but Yang could be surprisingly influential when she wanted to be. As a Signal Academy graduate, Yang was knowledgeable enough on the subjects of their classes that she could afford to not go to class on occasion. And on those occasions, Yang always managed to convince Blake to accompany her.

They would spend these hours in the Beacon Academy gardens, doing a variety of different things. Sometimes Blake would pass the time reading a book with Yang’s head in her lap, threading her fingers through her partner’s golden curls. Sometimes they would sit on the edge of the pond with their legs dangling over, telling jokes and playing games of “I Spy”. On this particular outing, it was one of the rare times where they found themselves being more sentimental than usual as they exchanged stories and fond memories.

“Our dad was scared shitless! He was convinced that someone had broken into the house, but it was just me and Rubes. He had to turn on the lights and check behind every nook and cranny in the room for like, a month afterward.” Yang exclaimed, laughing as she shook her head, recounting a time when an 8 year old Yang and a 6 year old Ruby had pranked and terrified your dad.

Blake laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. She closed her eyes and breathed in, letting a moment of silence pass before she asked, “So I take it you and your dad are close?” It had been a long time since Blake talked to her own father, not since before her parents left the White Fang, so hearing Yang reminisce about times with Ruby and their father was heartwarming, if not bittersweet.

“It’s... complicated.” Yang admitted, chewing on her lip. “We’ve had our issues, but it’s nothing that isn’t normal for daughters or fathers.” Blake could tell that there was an underlying meaning to that, but she decided not to push it. Breaking the awkward silence, Yang cut in, “Gotta say, though, it sure is nice going to a school where my dad  _ isn’t _ a teacher. Less opportunities for him to embarrass me.” She laughed again before turning back to Blake. “What about you?”

It was a harmless question, but there was no way for Blake to answer it without revealing her identity as a faunus and an ex-White Fang member. Instead, she just shrugged and kicked her feet back and forth, looking down at her reflection in the pond. “It’s been a while since I last talked to him, we didn’t exactly leave on good terms.”   
  
Thankfully, Yang didn’t push it. Instead, she frowned, and Blake was shocked by the feeling that seeing that expression on her partner’s face gave her. It wasn’t right, Yang lips were supposed to be quirked up in that gorgeous smile that she had become familiar with throughout their time together as teammates.

In an attempt to lighten the mood, Blake conjured up her own smile and said, “But I’m over it.” It was a lie, but it made the next words more genuine. “It’s less lonely here. It used to hurt but... I have you and Ruby and Weiss now, and you guys have made me feel welcomed and at home.”

That seemed to do the trick, and Yang’s face practically lit up. She lifted her right hand and cupped Blake’s cheek in a move that immediately had the dark-haired girl’s face heating up. Yang tilted her head, her smile going from a grin to something softer and lighter, and Blake had never loved the color purple more than she did staring into Yang’s eyes.

“I’m glad you feel comfortable around us.” She replied, her voice a low murmur that Blake rarely ever heard come from the blonde. Blake smiled in response, ducking her head and looking back down at the pond. They fell into a comfortable silence, and at some point, Blake found herself slowly scooting closer to Yang’s side and resting her head on the taller girl’s shoulder.

Yang stiffened, and Blake could hear the change in her breathing. It was only for a moment though, as Yang sank into her partner’s side and settled her head on top of Blake’s. She wasn’t sure when she started dozing off, but she woke up some time later to Yang shaking her awake and telling her that it was time for them to meet back up with Ruby and Weiss.

As they headed back, their hands brushing together as they walked, Blake couldn’t shake the feeling of Yang’s arm snaking around her waist as she had drifted off into unconsciousness.

═

Beacon Academy fell, and Blake fell back into her old habits of repressing her need for physical contact. It was harder for her to shove that part of her back down, especially after the casual touches she had become accustomed to with Yang, but it didn’t feel right without her there.

Reconnecting with her parents eased the void inside of her slightly, but she still found herself unable to fall back into the love language that she had gotten from her parents in the first place. Sometimes, her mother would lean down and nudge Blake’s shoulder with her head, or her father would bump his forehead against hers, but it wasn’t the same as it used to be. A part of her still felt inadequate and guilty for not leaving the White Fang with her parents, like she was undeserving of the love her parents were trying to give her.

Another problem came in the form of Sun Wukong. While he was nowhere near as physical with her as Yang was, he was more physical than she would’ve liked. It was usually only something as small as a hand on her shoulder, but it still made it difficult for her to separate herself from her craving of physical contact and distance herself from the casual touching that she had with her partner back at Beacon.

By the time the battle at Haven came around, Blake was more comfortable around her parents and more comfortable with being more affectionate with them, just as she had been when she was a child.

And with the battle at Haven came reuniting with Yang and the rest of Team RWBY and the remainders of Team JNPR. Securing the relic and interfering with Adam and the White Fang’s plans put Blake in a better spot than she had been when she had first boarded the ship back to Menagerie from Vale.

But it almost felt like she was back to square one with Yang. She was distant and guarded and Blake knew exactly why. She couldn’t blame Yang for it, but it still stung nonetheless. No more hand brushes or shoulder blade touches or hugs. No more stolen glances and goofy grins and soft eyes. The one time she had initiated any type of intimate physical contact with Yang was in the shed when Yang had brought up Adam for the first time since before the fall of Beacon, and after Yang pulled her hand back and walked away, Blake stopped.

Blake never felt more disconnected from Yang and more deprived of any type of physical contact than she had during that time.

═

The fight with Adam on the waterfall in Argus came and went, and Blake felt closer to Yang than she ever had before.

Yang falling to her knees beside a sobbing Blake and pulling her into her arms, cupping the back of her head gently as she holds Blake and lets her cry into her shoulder, carefully pushing her away and brushing Blake’s hair from her face, pressing their foreheads together as she brought her hand, the metal hand that she had lost to the very same man they had just killed defending Blake, up to Blake’s cheek and comforted her as Blake brought her own hand up to cover Yang’s. That waterfall was the point of no return. It was a turning point in their relationship and also a brand new start for the both of them.

As Yang took Blake’s hand in the airship, her lilac eyes glittering in the dark starlight shining through the windows of the ship, and told Weiss that they were there for each other, Blake finally realized why letting her physically affectionate love language come out with Yang all the way back at Beacon was so easy.

Because Yang made her feel safe and warm... and loved.

After that, she and Yang were practically attached at the hip. Gentle touches on her shoulder blade upgraded to an entire arm around her shoulder. Subtle hand brushes upgraded to intertwined fingers and gentle hand squeezes. Heads on shoulders upgraded to full on hugs and cuddles.

The biggest change, perhaps, was sleeping arrangements.

The events of the Argus waterfall brought nightmares, ones that would have Blake shooting up from her bed, shaking violently with tears falling from her eyes widened in fright. While Blake’s nightmares were more silent, it was always clear when Yang was having a nightmare. More often than not, the biggest tell was the blonde squirming under her sheets and whimpering Blake’s name before finally waking up and succumbing to her tears.

On nights when Adam’s voice was louder than her own, when the scar on Blake’s hip burned and what was left of Yang’s right arm throbbed painfully under her prosthetic, Blake found herself slipping out of her bunk and slinking up to Yang’s bunk. She would run her fingers through yang’s bangs in a makeshift welcome and crawl under Yang’s covers. As she settled under the sheets, regardless of whether she was awake or asleep, Yang’s body molded into Blake’s, as if their bodies were made to fit together as perfect as a puzzle (and maybe they were).

Yang’s flesh hand always found Blake’s waist, her fingers would run over the raised skin, and Blake’s face would find the crook of Yang’s neck. Blake would tuck herself into her partner’s shoulder and nuzzle against her neck, fully surrendering to her physically affectionate instincts. She wasn’t sure if Yang ever felt her lips press against where torn skin met metal, but if she did, she never brought it up.

On mornings when Blake and Yang would emerge from Yang’s bunk together, untangling their limbs and separating with red-tinted cheeks, Ruby and Weiss would merely share a knowing glance. This bed-sharing became a nightly occurrence over time, without being instigated by nightmares. They both claimed that holding each other warded off the nightmares, but they both knew the truth of what was really going on between them.

Their night off from huntsman duties spent at the Atlas club with Team FNKI only increased the spark and had them toeing the line between friends and lovers even more than they already had.

Neon had  _ technically _ only invited Yang, but when the blonde told the rainbow-colored girl, “Me and Blake will see you there.”, it was clear that they were a package deal.

The flashing lights and booming bass sounds were painful on her faunus senses, but the overstimulation was drowned out by Yang’s violet eyes, glowing a dim red under the club light, and her intoxicating grin.

They had ditched Team FNKI pretty much the second they got there, but Blake caught Neon’s pointed look and raised eyebrow directed at the pair as Yang wrapped an arm around Blake’s waist and directed her toward the dance floor, and Blake couldn’t imagine that any of them were disappointed or surprised.

Before meeting Yang, a club in Atlas was the last place Blake would’ve ever willingly spent a night off. But Yang had a way of making anything enjoyable; as long as Blake was spending time with her, she found no problem in anything.

In hindsight, Blake probably should’ve thought through the implications of the decision a bit more. Yang thrived in environments like that, and that night was no different. Yang was attractive on a daily basis, but she looked downright  _ deadly _ in the flashing lights illuminating the dance floor. Her canines glistened as she grinned down at Blake, her hands finding her waist and pulling her flush against her side. Blake hoped Yang didn’t see how red her cheeks were, but something told her that her not-so-subtle stares were telling enough.

The line separating friends and something more became more blurred the longer the night went on. Blake never prided herself on being a good dancer, but with Yang’s hands guiding her, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

The rest of the world was non-existent, the only thing that mattered was Yang in her line of vision, dancing and laughing and pressing entirely too close to her to be passed off as platonic. 

A slow song turned on for the first time that night, and the single drunks shuffled off the floor as some of the couples who had sat down stood up and took their places on the floor. Yang’s hands found the curve of Blake’s waist again, but this time, she pulled Blake closer to her much more timidly than she had been doing all evening. Blake’s hands found Yang’s shoulders, but the distance between them was short-lived as Blake’s head found the curvature of her partner’s neck, and she pressed herself flush against her chest.

They stayed that way for most of the dance, only parting so Yang could drag her into a playful twirl or deep dip. As the song came to a close, Yang’s forehead fell to bump against Blake’s, and the faunus’s heart fluttered at the gesture, one that Yang had picked up from Blake’s own physically affectionate tendencies. Blake pressed up on her toes, desperate to be as close to Yang as she could be. As if their bodies molded together weren’t close enough, as if Blake’s soul was reaching out to Yang, as if their auras were meeting in their own dance.

Blake could feel Yang’s warm breath on her face and she knew she wasn’t imagining how Yang’s eyes darted down to her lips, licking her own as she met Blake’s golden gaze again, eyes asking for permission to finally cross the line they’ve been dancing on since they were just lovestruck 17 year old girls at Beacon Academy with dreams of grandeur, desperately trying to rid themselves of what they thought were just innocent schoolgirl crushes.

Oh, how naive and unknowing they were.

Their lips brushed together, and Blake tugged on the back of Yang’s neck gently but urgently, begging her to unite with Blake in the most deep-seated motion between two people. All Blake had to do was tilt her head up slightly, all Yang had to do was tilt hers down.  _ Fuck that line,  _ Blake wanted say,  _ that line has only ever stood in the way. _

But right as Yang moved, whether to finally kiss Blake or not she would never know, the Atlas sirens started blaring, loud enough to cut through the music. Everyone in the club evacuated, and Yang looked back with worry. But as Blake moved to pull herself away and reach for Gambol Shroud, Yang cupped Blake’s face and brought her back, pressing her forehead firmly against Blake’s in a move that suddenly seemed more intimate and loving than a kiss could ever hope to be. Yang finally pulled back and activated Ember Celica, and rushed off with Blake right beside her.

_ Cock-blocking Grimm,  _ Blake thought with a snarl,  _ once this is over I’m gonna kiss Yang senseless like I should’ve done back in that club. _

Ironwood abandoned Mantle and declared martial law, the teams separated to evacuate Mantle and activate Amity, and Salem’s whale landed on Atlas and began wreaking havoc, and Blake never got to do that.

═

Blake was familiar with worry and fear, growing up in the White Fang had instilled enough of that in her. But nothing compared to the paralyzing panic that ate her alive as she, Ruby, Weiss, Nora, Penny, and May desperately waited for some sort of sign that Yang, Jaune, Ren, and Oscar were okay. The freaky, talking Grimm did a good job of temporarily distracting her, but the time after that was somehow even more agonizing.

Her fear peaked when the explosion from the edge of Atlas went off, completely destroying the whale that had been spitting out Grimm for the past few hours.

Her hands shook violently as she dialed Yang’s scroll again, praying to the gods that this time, she answered. She chewed on her fingernail worriedly, and nearly sobbed in relief when Yang’s, “ _ Blake? _ ” sounded out from the other end of the scroll. She zoned out the sound of Weiss giving the group details on how to get back to the Schnee Manor from their current location, too busy drinking in the sight of Yang, safe and alive.

The call turned off and Blake darted down the main staircase of the mansion, standing in front of the front door with Ruby and Weiss on her tail, wanting to be right there to welcome Yang when she and the others returned.

But Blake’s thoughts and feelings caught up to her as she waited. The last time she had seen Yang, she was frustratedly leaving the Happy Huntresses’ hideout to go evacuate Mantle. She had left before Blake could say goodbye or tell her to be safe. Blake had let her just walk out, she had left her to go activate Amity and Yang very well could’ve been out there somewhere, dead, and Blake wouldn’t have even said goodbye.

Blake’s thoughts went back to the day she and Yang finally overcame Adam and took back their freedom from him. The day she promised to never leave Yang’s side like she had after the fall of Beacon, the day she and Yang promised that they would protect each other. But Blake had gone and broken that promise. Blake had left her again, and she failed to be there to fulfill her side of the promise and protect Yang when the world was ending. 

What if she was disappointed with her? What if they reunited, and Yang saw a repeat of the aftermath of the fall of Beacon? What if the love that Yang’s lavender-colored eyes always held whenever she looked at Blake vanished because she realized that all Blake would ever do is run?

The sound of feet tapping against stone sounded outside, and Ruby threw open the door to reveal Yang, Jaune, Ren, Oscar, and, to Blake’s shock, Emerald. But Blake couldn’t even bring herself to question the strange addition, she had eyes only for her partner and best friend.

She watched from the sidelines as Ruby flung herself into her older sister’s arms, and as Yang pulled Weiss into a hug. She finally turned to Blake, and the aforementioned woman felt the ears on top of her head fold down. She was ready for the cold shoulder, maybe some harsh words or just a disappointed look. But instead, she felt a soft hand cup her face and benevolently lift her chin up.

Blake finally opened her eyes at the contact, and she felt herself melt at the sight. Yang, looking at her with that beautiful, soft smile that she reserved only for Blake, the same smile that Blake had fallen head over heels in love with. Yang’s cheeks lit up red, and the realization hit her. Yang wasn’t mad at her or disappointed with her. She didn’t think that Blake had abandoned her, she thought that they had simply separated for a small period of time and found their way back to each other, just as they were always fated to do.

Blake let her own smile overtake her face, undoubtedly a disgustingly lovestruck grin, but she couldn’t bring herself to care as Yang’s flesh hand slid up her face to more solidly cradle her face and Blake’s own hands found Yang’s waist. They gravitated together and pressed their foreheads together. Blake took a deep inhale and for the first time in almost two days, she felt like she could breathe again. Yang was safe and alive and whole under Blake’s palms, and despite the world ending around them, Blake couldn’t help but feel like everything in  _ her _ world was whole and right again.

Blake’s mind flashed back to what she thought at the Atlas club that night. She realized that she didn’t  _ need _ to kiss Yang senseless. This, her forehead pressed firmly against Yang’s and their breaths mingling, souls and auras co-existing and becoming whole once more after being torn apart, was the most intimate, devoted, and romantic show of affection was just this.  _ This _ was the love her parents showed when she was a child, the love language of headbuts and nuzzles and forehead touches. The love language that she had picked up and begun using herself, the same love language that Yang had learned to understand Blake through and use herself to give her love back.

The CCT emergency broadcast cut through the moment, and they parted as they watched General Ironwood finally fall completely off the deep-end. But as Ruby started discussing how to best approach their new problem and Yang’s hand found hers, their fingers intertwining as Blake responded with a squeeze, she knew that she wouldn’t be alone. Whatever came next, she and Yang would do it together. Ironwood and Salem were no match for the love between them.

**Author's Note:**

> well bumbleby nation, how are we feeling about v8 ep10?? this was the result of my chronic bumbleby brainrot, and was inspired by [this post](https://sunny-little-yang.tumblr.com/post/644379616928235520/i-just-realized-that-weve-seen-that-blake-has-a). come scream about the bees with me on tumblr @sunny-little-yang and, as always, thanks for reading!!


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